Modify my resume based on feedback and complete the Targeted Cover Letter

• This is a three part assignment. The first part will help you focus on what an employer needs by evaluating and deconstructed the job description. In the second part of this assignment you will leverage these insights and create a targeted cover letter designed to address these specific needs. How To Deconstruct a Job Description Template INT6200.pdf
  • Please review this attached document and upload your completed worksheet for this assignment.

  As you complete this exercise consider how the information that you gather from this deep job description review will help you create a targeted cover letter.

• Outline how your qualifications meet the employer’s needs
• Choose two or three of your best qualifications and identify concrete examples to illustrate them
• Outline how your skills, interests, and goals match those of the employer
• Please review the Cover LetterLinks to an external site. resources included within this module and examples from the Employer Engagement and Career Design OfficeLinks to an external site.

Assignment: Cover Letter

• The purpose of a cover letter is to summarize your relevant experience, to express interest in the position, and to demonstrate writing ability. The goal is to give employers enough information to want to meet you and interview you, without overwhelming them with every detail about your background and life.

Format

• Follow standard business letter format. Use the same heading on your cover letter as you did on your resume
• Don’t forget your email and phone, the date, the addressee’s name, and the addressee’s address (for this assignment you can make this up).
• Use 11 or 12-pt, professional font and block formatting, and stay to one page.
• Write “Enclosure” at the bottom to signify that your resume is included.

The Greeting

• It’s important to research who will be reading your letter and address your letter to that person specifically.
• Also, remember to use Ms. instead of Miss. or Mrs., and if you are unsure of the person’s gender, just list the first and last name (e.g. “Dear Taylor Benson:”).
• Include a colon in your greeting instead of a comma for this formal occasion.

The Body

• Your first paragraph should clearly state the job title you are applying for. Traditional cover letters explain why you are writing and how you found out about the job (e.g. a job ad, a job fair meeting, or the suggestion of someone you both know). The new generation of cover letters often begin by stating a need of the employer’s (following up with how you will meet it), promising a benefit to the reader, or referring to a recent piece of relevant news for the field/company.

The Final Paragraph

• Should invite them to interview/contact you and offer a method of reaching you (phone, email…), or tell them you will be calling them by a certain time (usually a week). This is also place to give them any important details about next steps (if you will be in town and available to meet at a certain time, if they should use your home phone instead of work, etc).
• Remember to thank them for considering your application or find another way to end on a note of goodwill. The Closing Include a valediction, and this should probably be formal (e.g. “Sincerely” or “Cordially” rather than “Thanks”).

Important note: for this assignment submission you must include three items: 1. the job description that you used, 2. the completed “How to Deconstruct a Job Descriptions Template” and 3. your customized cover letter. So there should be three items uploaded for full credit on this assignment. You can review the grading rubric for the cover letter below to better understand how this assignment will be evaluated. Again do not forget to include all 3 items.